Maps

Google, waze and Apple maps show illegal israeli settlements in the west bank, but not palestinian villages.

Above is satellite image with Palestinian villages in pink, and Israeli settlements in blue showing the area around the Palestinian village of Umm Al Kheir in the South Hebron Hills. Shown as well are the map images on Google, Apple and Waze.

Below is an animated map showing the current status of Apple maps' depiction of West Bank communities, and then showing what it should look like, complete with the hundreds of Palestinian villages.

Though Google and Apple claim that mapping the West Bank is not a high priority, many of the illegal Israeli settlements have been mapped. Meanwhile, the hundreds of Palestinian villages built on privately-owned land in Area C are nowhere to be found. This is a problem because mapping technologies help to shape the way the international community perceives the world. If Palestinian villages are not recognized as legitimate or permanent in mapping technologies, there is less likely to be international outcry when they are demolished or forcibly evacuated to make room for settlement expansion.

Rebuilding Alliance is working with Google and Apple to make sure that Palestinian villages get the recognition they deserved. We have partnered with BIMKOM to provide the mapping departments with all the data they need. We are also inviting our supporters to help by using our new mobile app, Evincible, to contact their members of Congress and ask them to press Google and Apple to map the villages.